Reactions to Occupy Wall Street Protests

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For the past few weeks, a group of liberal protesters have held a series of protests on Wall Street in New York City over what they call "wealth inequality" in America. The reality is these are members of the entitlement generation who believe they are owed a job, owed a paycheck, owed a living, and owed benefits.

The basis of these frustrations against Wall Street start with a mentality that anyone who has wealth obtained it by some ill means. The attitude is "if you have money, you stole it from someone else, therefore we are entitled to take it back." Unfortunately, the truth of capitalism is far different.

The truth is business owners take a risk with their money. They put up their own money with two potentials: They could make a profit or lose their money. If their product is good and there is a demand for it, a profit is made. If that product is in high enough demand, new employees are hired to meet the demand for production.

That's 180 degrees different from earning a paycheck. A paycheck is a contract. Unless you fail to do the work you are guaranteed that paycheck. That is why it's taxed differently than wages. Even then, if you were pretending to do the work, you'll still get paid until they fire you. With business investment there is the risk of loss that goes with the risk of gain.

Throughout this entire process of owning a business, the owner is deciding whether to take their money and get out or to keep reinvesting it in the company. If their company has stood for years, they have continued to risk their money, year after year. They make their millions because their product continues to be in demand.

To me, this is the glory of America, the truest sense of the American Dream, and what is great about this country. To these protesters it is ill-gotten gain. So now they are protesting that these people have DARED to be successful in their investments and wise with their fiscal property (that would be "money" for those of you in Palm Beach County, FL), demanding that they pay "their fair share."

The truth is, and this is quoted quite regularly, the top 1% of wage earners pay 38% of the tax burden, the top 5% pay 58% of the tax burden, the top 10% pay 70% of the tax burden, and the bottom 50% pay less than 3% of the tax burden. (1)

Now these Occupy Wall Street types are going to tell you "but those wealthy are the ones who have reaped the most benefit from our system, they should pay more taxes." Well, let's look at who gets the most benefit from the tax dollars paid. According to a study performed in 2007 by the Tax Foundation:

Overall, we find that America's lowest-earning one-fifth of households received roughly $8.21 in government spending for each dollar of taxes paid in 2004. Households with middle-incomes received $1.30 per tax dollar, and America's highest-earning households received $0.41. Government spending targeted at the lowest-earning 60 percent of U.S. households is larger than what they paid in federal, state and local taxes. (2)

Wait a minute...so the wealthiest among us pay significantly MORE in taxes, but receive significantly LESS from the government? Wouldn't that mean they are actually paying MORE than their "fair share" and receiving LESS than their "fair share" in return? Wouldn't that also mean that the poorest among us pay LESS than their "fair share" and receive MORE than their "fair share" in return? Only if you consider receiving 800% as much as you put in from the government while the same "evil rich people" receive 40% of their tax investment back.

The truth of the matter is these Wall Street types are paying significantly more than their fair share. They have made successful investments and that has paid off. They have then been wise enough hold on to their fiscal property (Palm Beachers, that's money).

As for the "million dollar bonuses" that these Wall Street executives receive, I have one simple answer to you liberals. Please listen carefully to me: IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! If my employer feels that I have done such a good job that they want to give me a bonus as a reward for my success, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! It does not matter how much that bonus happens to be, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS! It's not your money being given. A company can do whatever they want with their fiscal property (again, Palm Beachers, that's money), including giving that money to an employee as a reward, and IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Friends this type of baloney really steams my clams, because these entitled liberals think that a person getting a bonus is their business. Fact of the matter is if that executive didn't get that bonus, it would not make your life one iota better and it would not put a nickel into your pocket. You can call it unfair and not like it, but once again IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!

Bottom line: The Occupy Wall Street protests are nothing more than a group of whiny entitlement generation liberals who want to tear other people down who have succeeded. Government has zero right to confiscate the fiscal property (money) of the people who work on Wall Street REGARDLESS OF HOW MUCH THEY HAVE. It is not now, nor will it ever be, your money. Regardless of how much they have, regardless of how big a bonus someone is given, IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!